Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) is a process whereby brief repetitive periods of ischemia (e.g. in a limb) followed by reperfusion. RIC has been are used to induce resistance to subsequent ischemic injury in an organ remote from the limb (e.g. the heart).
RIC has been shown to be useful in the treatment of ischemic and/or reperfusion injury. Thus, RIC has been contemplated primarily for myocardial infarction and ensuing heart failure, restenosis, and traumatic injury including trauma associated with hypovolemic shock. RIC has also been contemplated as an adjunct to surgery such as cardiovascular surgery. RIC has also been reported to provide performance enhancement to healthy subjects including elite swimmers as well as subjects having conditions that impair exercise (e.g., cardiovascular disease). In some instances, the subjects to be treated according to the invention may be subjects that would not have been previously contemplated for RIC therapy.